Howard Bison

As the lone defender under the Laurel High School basket, junior Kirk Hawkins braced himself as Bowie High began a three-on-one fastbreak against the Spartans. Hawkins, who is quick but only 5 feet 7, managed to steal an entry pass and feverishly began to dribble toward the opposite basket. The point guard, as he is inclined to do, passed to one of his teammates, who hoisted a shot from the outside only to see the ball clang off the rim. The ball caromed to Hawkins, who had slipped through the taller Bowie defenders. The Laurel High dynamo then banked in a shot in the paint to cap a sequence that had seen him steal the ball at one end of the floor and score a basket at the other in...